Google said that the rise in requests for the users’ data across the world has increased. Saying it is almost 120 times more than it was last year, the company stated, majority of the request is from the U.S. government.
Government continuously been asking for the details of the accounts on Google and Yahoo services, Richard Salgado, Legal Director, Law Enforcement and Information Security said, ” This updated Report details the number of government requests we received for user information in criminal investigations during the second half of 2013. Government requests for user information in criminal cases have increased by about 120 percent since we first began publishing these numbers in 2009. Though our number of users have grown throughout the time period, we’re also seeing more and more governments start to exercise their authority to make requests. ”
In the transparency report published, Google reflected about receiving 53,356 requests for the users’ data last year only, where Yahoo on the other hand showed government requests which were less than they were in few last reports. While approximately 8 percent of the requests were rejected, Yahoo received about 12,444 request from the U.S law enforcement agencies in the first half and about 6,144 requests in the second half of the year 2013. Although either of the companies said a word if any of the request were from the National Security Agency, the world figures for Yahoo are around 21,425 requests on 32,493 accounts.
Salgado also said, “You deserve to know when and how governments request user information online, and we’ll keep fighting to make sure that’s the case.”
Both the companies have been informing the law agencies about the changes in policies since last July— the time when former NSA contractor Edward Snowden became a whistleblower and showed the world how U.S. government and the NSA are keeping an eye on users’ data. Though NSA claims it is for the national security and to stop terrorists from attacking the country.
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